The ISTD is one of the world’s leading dance examination boards with a wide range of dance genres available. We use this examining body for our Tap and Modern Theatre Dance exams.
“The examination structure of the ISTD is designed to cater equally for those who wish to progress to making dance their profession, either as a performer or dance teacher, and for those pursuing dance purely as a leisure activity.”
Tap
We recommend that students begin tap from around 5 years old.
If they are already studying ballet with us and are going to take tap as an additional class, they sometimes start a bit earlier.
The exams are as follows:
- Primary: this is presented to the examiner like a class, with the teacher leading the instruction
- Grades 1-6: the exams are taken in groups of up to 4 students, with the examiner leading the process. No-one is allowed to watch
- Intermediate Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced 1 and Advanced 2:
These are all vocational exams and are accredited by Ofqual. These form a bridge between the grades and professional examinations to provide the basis for either a career as a dancer, or further training as a dance teacher.
Modern Theatre Dance
This syllabus has elements of jazz, contemporary, lyrical and West End theatre. Students learn about good posture, rhythm & musicality and work on flexibility, step vocabulary and creative movement, all within a structured class. This is how the ISTD describes it:
“Modern Theatre Dance makes a distinctive contribution to the education of all students, through using movement, which is one of the fundamental modes of human expression. It offers a range of learning opportunities and enables participants to enjoy physical expression as well as develop intellectual sensibilities. As they work together in Modern Theatre Dance, candidates learn about co-operation and develop an understanding of the shaping of movement into artistic forms of expression. Candidates develop the skill and understanding of Modern Theatre Dance, at the same time as building a sound technique, by developing the physical ability to communicate through movement in an expressive and artistic way. A clearly defined structure allows learning to take place in the context of safe dance practice. The Graded Examinations build up progressively, ensuring that steps and skills learned at lower levels prepare for more complex movements as the candidate progresses”
We recommend that students begin modern dance classes when they are in Grade 1 ballet (around 7 years old).
The exams for Modern theatre dance follow the same structure as the tap and if they choose to take the exams, each child will receive an individual report and result, which will reflect their own achievement gained.